[EXCERPT] Russia Spots North Korean Satellite
MOSCOW, Sept 5 (AFP) - Russia's space observation centre has
spotted the satellite North Korea claimed to have launched Monday,
ITAR-TASS news agency reported Saturday.
A centre official told the agency that the launch indicated that
North Korea had the technical knowledge for firing an
intercontinental missile.
The observation centre, which is run by the Russia armed forces,
confirmed Pyongyang's statement that the satellite had been placed
in an orbit of between 218.82 kilometres and 6,978.20 kilometres
(135.67 and 4326.48 miles), circling the earth every 165 minutes and
six seconds.
The centre speculated that the satellite had been launched for
commercial purposes, adding that Russian scientists had given it a
number in the catalogue of artificial objects in space.
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The stunning claim that Pyongyang had not only achieved its
first launch of a two-stage rocket but also put a satellite in orbit
initially was greeted with scepticism.
David Wright, a physicist studying North Korea at the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, said "there's no indication
that they have anything approaching the ability to launch a
satellite."